they are both under arrest right now. back here live, the manhunt will continue. we have no idea how long it will take place. reporting live in east oakland, nbc bay area news. >> thank you very much for the update. another monday night protest is scheduled to begin any moment now at b.a.r.t.'s civic center station in san francisco. they're upset about the killing of a man by b.a.r.t. police and the agency's decision to shut down wireless cell phone service to prevent a possible protest. >> another monday, another protest. tonight's demonstration has a twist. a group of angry commuters is protesting the protesters. we bring in nbc bay area's traci grant who joins us from san francisco. and is that right, this time around a little different? this is now a multi-dimensional protest. what's the latest? >> reporter: well, we are finally starting to see some people show up here right behind us. we have some people with folded up signs. some people putting bandanas around their heads that usually ends up being a group of protesters. now right out here is where b.a.r.t. police are expecting to see the most protesters. not on the train platforms but out here, ground level. on civic center plaza. this time commuters who say they've been inconvenienced by protests also plan to attend to make sure their voices are also heard. >> and it's difficult to get on, disrupt the commute hour. it is -- makes it life difficult. >> reporter: billie ranks says getting home the last few weeks has been a challenge for her. >> trying to tell my teachers, can i get off soon so i won't have to deal with this whole protest or anything like that. >> reporter: some others who feel just like these commuters have pledged to attend tonight's protest. they say they want their rights as passengers to be honored and don't want to be inconvenienced anymore. >> there will be several groups, people protesting b.a.r.t. police. people protesting the protesters. >> reporter: it started july 11 with a chaotic event during which people protested b.a.r.t. police department's fatal shooting of a homeless man. one month later b.a.r.t. says in order to ensure protesters didn't disrupt the commute again, the agency shut down wireless communication to keep protesters from organizing on the platforms. that's when a group called anonymous organized events to protest b.a.r.t.'s decision to interrupt cell phone service for the last three mondays including tonight. >> i think we're expecting a protest outside of our platform. i think the message has been sent that we cannot have protests on our platform. it's too dangerous. >> reporter: according to twitter messages from anonymous and its followers, b.a.r.t. may be right. several messages advise protesters to keep it in the street and stay off the lorms. the tweets say they don't want b.a.r.t. to be able to blame the protesters for stations getting shut down and forcing commuters to find other ways home. >> they have nothing better to do. that's sad. >> reporter: anonymous on twitter has been urging these people not to just wander out into the street during the last couple of protests. once b.a.r.t. police shut down the stations, priefrts ended up standing out in the middle of market street, blocking traffic. anonymous is saying that protesters should pick a target and remain there. last week more than 40 people were arrested. live in san francisco, nbc bay area news. >> okay. the last couple of weeks what we've seen around 5:15, around 5:30, is when the protests take shape. we'll continue to follow that story. we have two big pieces of news now surrounding the san bruno explosion. first, new allegations tonight that pg&e knew there were problems with the wells on its underground gas lines but failed to follow up. an investigation by the "san francisco chronicle" indicates that 11 months prior to the deadly explosion last year an inspection crew found crack and defective wells on the same line not far away from san bruno. last september's fire in san bruno killed eight people and destroyed dozens of homes. the "chronicle" cites two internal emails from pg&e engineers who analyzed wells and cracks, noting there might be others. but pg&e did not perform further testing. federal investigators have already tracked the source of explosion to a faulty seam weld. a pg&e vice president says in hindsight, the utility wishes it had looked at the issue in a different way. that weld in question is the source of our second angle to the story. a revelation that you'll see only on nbc bay area news. for many, a stunning admission from the head of the ntsb. we sat down with him in washington, d.c. the welds were substandard by today's terms and also in 1956 terms. >> some powerful and blunt comments now. there's more. tonight at 6:00, vicky nguyen joins us from washington with the preview of tomorrow's ntsb findings. they'll discuss what caused the disaster in a public hearing tomorrow in the nation's capital. we'll check in with vicky nguyen coming up at 6:00. oakland police tonight are looking for the two men behind yesterday's killing of a man as his young son looked on. jose esparza and his 6-year-old son had left a supermarket yesterday afternoon when police say two men tried to rob him. investigators haven't determined whether esparza resisted or why the men shot and killed him. the boy was not hurt. coming up at 6:00, a look at how violence is increasingly involving oakland's children. and we'll hear from the victim's widow. that's tonight at 6:00 after nightly news. highway 12 in the north bay is still closed while the chp investigates a deadly crash involving a big rig and three cars. it happened around 10:30 this morning. the truck owned by cal fire was hauling a bulldozer eastbound when it collided with three other cars. it's not clear at this point which vehicle was at fault. eight people were rushed to local hospitals. their conditions aren't being released at this hour. the chp has not released the name of that person that was killed in the crash. now to the aftermath of imean. the tropical storm -- irene. the tropical storm has left its mark on the u.s. >> cleanup and recovery is now underway. the full effect, it's the worst flooding some areas have seen in a century. today the death toll rose dramatically. 38 people in well well states killed by a storm that ripped its way up the east coast and into new england. damage is estimated at up to $10 billion. nearly five million people are still without power. new york city got all the headlines, but there are dozens of small new england towns cut off from help tonight by water that continues to rise. nbc's jay gray joins us live from connecticut where shoreline communities have been ripped apart. jay, how bad is the damage? >> reporter: it is very severe, janelle, raj. always good to talk to you. we'll show you that, that damage that stretches across at least 12 states. homes like this battered. and just like the survivors, now hanging on by a thread. it's cleanup day along the east coast. in the outer banks where irene first made landfall, crews are trying to cut through what the storm chewed up and tossed aside. a mess thousands are dealing with through new york and new england, as well. irene's winds were severe. but the storm's most dangerous weapon was clearly water. >> just not much you could do. it came in too quick. >> reporter: too quick and too much. water rushing through the middle of towns, washing away roads and even cars. >> here it goes, here it goes. there it goes! >> reporter: bridges were torn away while homes were turned into islands. and in dozens of rivers, the water still climbing. the best images of the devastation may come from the air. but it's on the ground where the damage becomes personal. >> got your lamp -- >> reporter: are t's tough to recognize anything -- it's tough to recognize anything in the areas hit hardest by irene. >> we've got a lot of people that have been really impacted by this tragedy. so it's -- it's disheartening to watch. >> reporter: millions without power, thousands pushed from their homes, some of those houses splintered. other hanging on the edge. >> you know people may not be getting back into their places to live for a while. >> reporter: early estimates are irene left $7 billion in damage or maybe more. but you can't put a price on what remains for survivors. >> what are you going to do? we're all right. that's the main thing. >> reporter: for many, it's the only thing left to cling to after the storm. tens of thousands looking for that strength as they begin what will surely be a long and difficult recovery. live in fairfield, connecticut, jay gray. back to you. >> okay, jay. thank you very much. for more on the aftermath of hurricane irene and what lies ahead, stay tuned for our "nightly news with brian williams." 20 minutes after this newscast at 5:30. the bay area led the way. now california could become the first state in the nation to ban restaurants and other food vendors from using styrofoam containers. >> small restaurants say the decision will hit them hard. nbc bay area's marianne favro is live to explain why. >> reporter: well, a lot of small restaurants here in downtown san jose serve their food in styrofoam containers like this. many restaurant owners are worried about a ban because they say the biodegradable containers cost twice as much. california may soon become the first state in the nation to ban styrofoam in restaurant and grocery stores. it's not a new concept in the bay area. similar bans have been in effect for years in berkeley, oakland, and san francisco. many restaurant owners sit using styrofoam are concerned the alternatives won't stack up. >> the problem is that they don't hold hot sauces. it's an issue when you get takeout food. for us now the foam is the best with the hot food. >> reporter: some customers say they still prefer styrofoam because the green alternatives have left them seeing red. >> when you go in the car and put it on your lap and get home, i see there's sauce coming from the bottom of it. and it ruins your clothes, and just not -- not very effective at all. >> reporter: environmentalists applaud the potential ban claiming styrofoam is clogging our landfills. opponents of the styrofoam ban including the california business coalition argue that it will kill about 8,000 jobs in our state. the biodegradable containers also cost twice as much as styrofoam. and an extra cost to restaurants customers may end up eating. if the state does approve the ban, it would go into effect in the year 2016. reporting live in downtown san jose, nbc bay area news. >> thank you very much. still ahead on nbc bay area news at 5:00, motorcycles rumble to life and embark on an annual journey to remember loved ones who died on september 11. also getting rid of the extra weight just got a little bit tougher. a new measuring stick is established on how to lose those unwanted pounds. that's just ahead. and i'm robayeda in for jeff ranieri. tonight we are tracking a stronger sea breeze right now. comfortable, 75 in san jose. cool 66 at oakland. sunshine over in san francisco. but the low clouds will be coming in as we look at a roller coaster seven-day foreca it's a remarkable ride. a group of motorcycles roared out of a harley-davidson shop this morning, making a cross-country trip in memory of loved ones that they lost on september 11. >> it's called the ride for the 40 journey. this is the third year. it ends in shanksville, pennsylvania, where united flight 93 crashed in a field. the plane was en route to san francisco from newark, new jersey, when it was hijacked. the passengers took down the terrorists, preventing the plane from crashing into its intended target. presumably washington, d.c. organizer ken mackie says his efforts are for his brirth joe whoa died in the crash. >> going to travel cross the country, try to raise awareness. keep the memories of the heroes alive. hopefully raise a little money so the permanent memorial can be finished, built on time. >> this year the ride will end with a dedication ceremony of the first phase of a memorial in the shanksville field. on sunday, september 11, nbc bay area will have special local coverage of the ten-year anniversary of 9/11. it will begin at 8:00 a.m. after the "today" show and will continue in primetime sunday evening at 8:00 p.m. right here on nbc bay area. if you've ever tried to lose weight, you know sometimes it can be very difficult. now even more discouraging news. at least potentially discouraging. many people think that cutting 500 calories a day can result in lose being a pound a week -- losing about a pound a week. 3 3,500 calories equals one pound of fat. experts say it doesn't take into account the metabolism and could lead to unrealistic expectations. the new model suggests only cutting 100 calories a day, a loss of ten pounds over three years. researchers found heavier people lose more weight, but it takes them longer to regain a stable weight. 2014, i'll be looking good, ten pounds lighter. >> my goodness. so far away. let's check with rob mayeda in for jeff ranieri covering the aftermath of irene. tell us about the forecast. the forecast looks good except if maybe you're heading to the coast or the giants game. bundle up. we've got a strong sea breeze going. as you see, still 80s inland toward the east bay values. 80 in livermore, pretty nice now. 75 in san jose. 63 in san francisco. and mid 60s in oakland. so already this evening it's sweatshirt weather around the east bay as the sea breeze picks up. eventually we'll see low clouds spilling in again tonight. there you see the winds out of the southwest into fairfield, livermore. the altamont pass, the onshore winds. of course the windmills spinning around the pass with the onshore breezes. we will see the low clouds spilling in, probably close to 60 around first pitch time tonight. giants taking on the cubs. then 50s and eventually low clouds coming in. i think we'll see sunshine at least to start, and then we will see low clouds moving into san francisco as we approach midnight. so some of our weather headlines despite the fact right now we've got the clear skies, we will see low clouds coming back in as we head into later tonight. morning drizzle, and then for tomorrow afternoon and probably on into wednesday, we're going to see a brief cooldown in temperatures before things start to warm up for the second half of the week. air quality looks outstanding. again, for your outdoor plans, thanks to the strong sea breeze. no problems, no spare the air day around the bay area tomorrow. notice we have the sunshine including the peninsula, golden gate bridge, a sunny dry commute into san jose. even to santa cruz now, our skies have cleared out. we've got a weather system here offshore which is going to pump in the sea breeze again as we head into tomorrow morning which means, yes, low clouds will come back in. and temperatures at least temporarily cooling down just a bit. sneak preview of tomorrow's commute shows you the low clouds punching inland around the east bay. then peeling back to the coast for the afternoon on into wednesday. about the same trend, but thursday and friday we're going to see some north winds which are going to dry us out and really warm up temperatures for the second partf the week. tonight, lows will be in the 50s. as we go through the forecast here, hour by hour, what you're going to see is our numbers tomorrow starting to get into the 80s inland. we'll see some low 80s around parts of the south bay toward san jose. but cooler around san francisco and the coast. we're at 65 around san francisco. probably some misty skies for the morning. then for the afternoon, we'll get the sunshine inland. concord and pittsburgh still looking good. we'll see low 80s in the forecast for the afternoon. 70s and 80s across parts of the north bay. so now let's look at the seven-day forecast. you're going to see a brief cooldown now through wednesday. but keep an eye on thursday and friday. and as we get closer to the start of september, we could see these types of patterns where we get north winds. we have not had much in the way of fire danger due to dry north winds. thursday and friday, we could see that pattern really start to dry things out as our temperatures come up and things dry out. that has to be watched for fire danger if temperatures start to climb up. even up to the coast thursday and friday, we'll see numbers bouncing back. >> okay, thank you very much. >> talking about fire danger. firefighters in yo emmitt say they are making steady progress against a five-day-old fire, but they still may order new evacuations. shea -- they have 1/3 of it contained thanks to a giant air tanker. they're using it to battle flames. they may order evacuations for a group of private homes on national forest land. campgrounds and mobile home parks in that area have already been evacuated and closed. despite the evacuations, the fire has not caused any major problems at the park itself, at yosemite. the park -- and the park knows -- and those views have not been damaged. the fire is burning along highway 140, leading into yosemite. it has scorched 7.5 square miles since last thursday. that's it the size of the city of san francisco. when we return, it was back to schr l oo esofoas tseny st. t scbur ieihools unlike anything they've experienced before. ho one medical mistake could have cost five people their lives. a highly-regarded hospital in taiwan transplanted organs from an hiv-positive donor into five patient. it happened at national taiwan university hospital in taipei. officials said the patients are now being treated with anti-aids drugs. in a posting on its web site over the weekend, the hospital said the mistake occurred because a transplant staffer believed he heard the english word "nonreactive" on the donor's standard hiv test which meant negative. while the word reactive was actually given. the hospital added that the information on the test result was given over the phone and was not double checked as required by standard operating performance. back to local news, it was back to school with a twist for students in the east bay today. >> they started class at a new wall dofb model school in oakland. the community school for creative education is the first of its kind in oakland. waldorf education hits the standard math and english but also incorporates music, dance, theater, poetry, and arts like painting and drawing. the principal says it's about timehaurt ban students get a chance to combine imagination with their education. >> so that means that the children who need it most, we give the least. and we're going to break that pattern with this school. >> the new creative education school will share the campus with charles howard elementary, a traditional school. now both principals say this a chance to learn from each other and incorporate styles that work for the kids. also in oakland, 25 of the world's greatest humanitarians will be remembered in the largest bronze monument in the western united states. designers and crews working on the remember them champions for humanity statue are beginning to erect the four-piece monument at oakland's henry kaiser memorial park. lincoln, mandela, and helen keller are among the faces represented. the lead sculptor on the project is an oakland native. a grand unveiling is planned for next tuesday. the fourth piece of the $9 million monument will be completed next year due to a need for more donations. . veasnecessarily staying inasne l gas. how about the olympics. >> could the summer games be coming to the strip? it's a city where people are known for taking chances and playing to win. now officials in las vegas are rolling the dice to try and host the olympic games in 2